"Speak for Peace: U.S. Veterans and Iraqis Creating the Way Forward"Tuesday, November 11, 20086:00 - 8:00 p.m.Monroe County Public Library Auditorium303 E. Kirkwood Avenue
Bloomington , IN

The "Speak for Peace" tour featuring an Iraqi and an Iraq War veteran will make four stops in Indiana, with a speaking engagement in Bloomington.

The purpose of the tour, organized by American Friends Service Committee, is to highlight the hidden side of the Iraq War; namely the displacement of Iraqi citizens, the experiences of Iraqis and U.S. soldiers exposed to continual violence, and the prospects for a peaceful future in Iraq - told by those who have lived through it.

The speakers:

Raed Jarrar, an Iraqi political analyst living in Washington D.C. and Ken Mills,
former Sgt. in the United States Marine Corp (USMC) who served two tours in Iraq will discuss their experiences in Iraq and their perceptions of the current
political situation both at home and in Iraq.

Raed Jarrar, a professional architect, obtained his first degree from the
University of Baghdad in 2000. Jarrar continued postgraduate studies at the
University of Jordan in Amman , Jordan where he researched community-based
post-war reconstruction in Iraq . A few days after the fall of Baghdad in April
2003, he became the country director for the only door-to-door casualty survey
group in post-war Iraq . He then established a grassroots organization that
coordinated with political leadership and civil society throughout Iraq in order
to rebuild Iraqi civil society and physical infrastructure, implementing
hundreds of community-based projects with minimal funding. Today, he endeavors to advance discourse between Iraqi leaders and members of the U.S. Congress. To that end, he has organized a series of meetings between U.S. and Iraqi officials and helped facilitate the publication of a number of op-eds by Iraqi leaders in prominent U.S. newspapers.

Ken Mills, from Fort Wayne , IN , served in the USMC from 2003-2007. He was
deployed to Fallujah , Iraq twice and fought in the 45 day long battle at
Fallujah in November 2004. He describes this experience as a turning point in
his military career when he realized he no longer agreed with the war. Upon his
return, he found himself a changed man and joined Iraq Veterans Against the War where he currently serves as the President of the Fort Wayne , IN Chapter.

Both Jarrar and Mills hope this tour can serve as a way forward for Americans and Iraqis to begin the dialogue on peace and reconciliation.